343: Second primary promotion

Wang Xianzhi's Divine Sense firmly locked onto the person rapidly approaching from the dense forest ahead and to his side.

The newcomer was extremely fast, carrying an overbearing aura.

"Roar!"

A deafening roar tore through the forest's tranquility, and a massive black shadow, accompanied by a fishy wind, lunged out!

It was an Iron-Armored Violent Bear with bone spikes on its back and exposed fangs!

Its aura had clearly reached the Late Tribulation Crossing Stage!

Vicious Beasts have keen senses, and it had evidently tracked Wang Xianzhi by the faint Qi that had escaped during his Breakthrough.

"Beast!" Wang Xianzhi's eyes turned cold, and instead of retreating, he advanced!

Entangling with such a thick-skinned Vicious Beast was most disadvantageous; he had to finish the fight quickly!

Just as the Iron-Armored Violent Bear's giant, fan-like paw was about to strike, Wang Xianzhi suddenly raised his left hand!

"Golden Lightning Talisman – Bind!"

Three brilliant golden Talismans instantly activated, transforming into three thick golden lightning chains that precisely wrapped around the Violent Bear's swinging paw and neck!

Although the lightning power contained in the Talismans was not enough to heavily injure a Vicious Beast at the Late Tribulation Crossing Stage, the strong paralyzing and binding effects caused the Violent Bear's movements to suddenly halt!

Lightning exploded under Wang Xianzhi's feet, and his figure, like a ghost, slid past beneath the giant paw, his right hand's thunder surge sword erupting with dazzling purple lightning!

"Startling Thunder Flash!"

The Sword Qi was as fast as a lightning bolt, stabbing directly at the Violent Bear's relatively vulnerable abdomen!

At the same time, three of the nine crystal-clear beads floating behind him suddenly lit up, transforming into three solidified lightning pillars that arrived first, fiercely striking the Violent Bear's chest!

"Pfft! Boom—!"

The thunder surge sword successfully pierced the Violent Bear's abdomen, and violent lightning Sword Qi ravaged its body!

The three lightning pillars even sent its massive body staggering, leaving its chest scorched black!

The intense pain instantly enraged the Violent Bear, causing it to break free from the golden lightning chains, its eyes bloodshot as it locked onto Wang Xianzhi.

However, Wang Xianzhi had already used the recoil to gracefully retreat, and his left hand once again formed a hand seal.

"Formation, rise!"

During the battle, Wang Xianzhi had, without a sound, set up another Formation.

At this moment, with the activation of the spell, a not-so-large but powerful Golden Adamantine Thunderfire Formation instantly took shape, perfectly enveloping the Iron-Armored Violent Bear, which had lost some of its rationality due to injury and anger and was charging headlong!

Thunder and fire intertwined, roaring incessantly!

The power of the Formation, combined with Wang Xianzhi's skirmishing harassment from the outside, finally caused this Late Tribulation Crossing Stage Vicious Beast to fall with an unwilling roar. A green pill was extracted by Wang Xianzhi after he broke open the Vicious Beast's skull; this was one of the creations of this grotto-heaven.

Wang Xianzhi quickly put away the pill, erased his tracks, and once again disappeared into the dense forest.

In the following days, Wang Xianzhi was like the most cunning and deadliest hunter in the forest.

He utilized the terrain, skillfully set ambushes, and used Formations to trap and defeat Wan Qifeng, an elite Disciple from Immortal Beast Mountain Villa.

The three Undergoing Tribulation Stage Spirit Beasts driven by Wan Qifeng were overwhelmed under Wang Xianzhi's meticulously arranged continuous trap Formations and lightning-fire attacks. Ultimately, Wang Xianzhi, with overwhelming force, closed in, touching his thunder surge sword to Wan Qifeng's throat, forcing him to concede and hand over more than a dozen jade tablets.

Later, he encountered Li Xuanfeng, a top Prodigy among the Kunlun Holy Land Disciples, who had already reached the Early Mahayana Stage!

Li Xuanfeng wielded a cold ice Spiritual Artifact sword, its Sword Qi chilling, spreading frost wherever it passed.

He held himself in high regard, and seeing Wang Xianzhi was only at the Middle Tribulation Crossing Stage, his words were full of disdain.

"A mere Undergoing Tribulation Stage cultivator, do you even deserve to contend with me? Hand over your jade tablets, or this Young Master will cripple you!"

Wang Xianzhi remained silent, his eyes as calm as water.

Facing a Realm suppression, he showed no fear.

From the start of the battle, he pushed his speed to the extreme, his lightning movement technique elusive and unpredictable, engaging in continuous, lightning-fast Startling Thunder Sword Arts, absolutely refusing to clash head-on with the opponent's magical power.

At the same time, the nine Thunder Beads constantly harassed, releasing subtle electromagnetic waves that interfered with Divine Sense.

Li Xuanfeng, unable to gain an advantage after a long assault, grew anxious, and cracks began to appear in his sword momentum.

Wang Xianzhi keenly seized a flaw in one of Li Xuanfeng's Divine Abilities and instantly struck!

"Be defeated!"

He suddenly flung an Exploding Flame Talisman from his left hand towards Li Xuanfeng's face, forcing him to parry with his sword.

At the same time, the nine Thunder Beads suddenly merged into one, forming a lightning spear condensed to its extreme, accompanied by a piercing shriek, directly striking the exposed flank of Li Xuanfeng, who was parrying the exploding flame!

Li Xuanfeng was greatly alarmed; his Earth-Grade High Grade body-protecting ice armor was instantly pierced by the lightning spear!

"Pfft! You actually have a Earth-Grade High Grade Spiritual Artifact too!" A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, and Li Xuanfeng staggered backward, his flank scorched black, and his spiritual power circulation immediately became sluggish.

His face was filled with disbelief; he had actually been injured by a Middle Tribulation Crossing Stage youngster!

Moreover, the opponent's wealth was by no means weaker than his own: nine pearl Magic Treasures for offense and defense, a lightning Flying Sword at least of Earth-Grade High Grade, and countless powerful Talismans.

Wang Xianzhi, having gained the advantage, showed no mercy. The thunder surge sword transformed into a sky full of lightning afterimages, relentlessly pursuing like a maggot on a bone.

Li Xuanfeng was already injured, and further irritated by Wang Xianzhi's tricky and ruthless sword techniques and endless stream of Talismans and Magic Treasures, he was finally forced to a halt by a sword, its tip pressed against the vital point of his back.

"You...!" Li Xuanfeng's face was ashen, filled with humiliation, but feeling the cold killing intent and flickering lightning arcs behind him, he could only grit his teeth and hand over all twenty-five jade tablets from his waist.

After defeating Li Xuanfeng, the number of jade tablets on Wang Xianzhi's waist surged to sixty-eight!

The news even subtly spread among other Prodigies.

There was a Middle Tribulation Crossing Stage cultivator in that area who practiced Formations, swords, and Talismans, and he was extremely difficult to deal with; even Li Xuanfeng of Kunlun Holy Land had fallen!

After several more encounters and hunting Vicious Beasts, Wang Xianzhi finally gathered ninety-nine jade tablets! When the number of jade tablets on his waist reached ninety-nine, he did not choose to continue searching for other Prodigies but instead chose to go into seclusion for cultivation.

Waiting for the competition time to end.

Meanwhile, in another grotto-heaven, the atmosphere was entirely different.

In a mountain valley filled with exotic Spirit Flowers, Wang Xianyu, dressed in an elegant long dress, stood quietly beneath a giant Spirit Tree.

A tranquil and gentle aura emanated from her, and her eyes were clear, as if she had merged with her surroundings.

A Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox – Cloud – whose entire body was snowy white with only the tips of its nine fluffy tails adorned with faint golden light, was lazily sprawled at her feet, contentedly squinting its eyes.

However, on the ground around them, lay seven or eight Prodigies who were either unconscious or struggling, clutching their heads in pain.

Their jade tablets floated quietly before Wang Xianyu.

"Sigh, why bother?" Wang Xianyu sighed softly, her voice ethereal and pleasant to the ear.

She extended her slender jade finger, collecting the jade tablets one by one; including the previous ones, she had already accumulated nearly ninety.

She primarily cultivated the Spirit Nurturing Scripture and possessed the Spirit Communication Dao Body, so her fighting style was completely different from her brother's.

She rarely attacked directly herself, but her Divine Soul power was extremely strong and pure.

Just now, those few Prodigies had seen them as "weak and outnumbered" and attempted to siege and snatch their jade tablets.

As a result, Wang Xianyu merely gently stroked Cloud once, and with a slight parting of her cherry lips, she uttered a strange syllable.

"Fix."

An invisible, gentle yet irresistible Divine Soul power rippled out like water.

The first few people who charged forward instantly felt their thoughts freeze and their bodies stiffen, as if they had been hit by a body-fixing spell!

Immediately after, the seemingly lazy Cloud moved!

It elegantly stood up, its nine fox tails swaying without wind, and the golden tips of its tails shone brightly!

Its fox eyes shimmered with a dreamlike, glazed color.

"Woo—!"

A fox cry with a strange rhythm sounded!

This sound seemed to act directly on the depths of the Soul, full of charm and impact!

Those Prodigies who were frozen and those who charged later instantly had their eyes become hazy and dull, as if they had fallen into the most beautiful dream, their faces showing infatuated smiles, their movements completely halted.

Even those with weaker Divine Souls directly let out a muffled groan, clutching their heads and painfully collapsing, losing consciousness.

Wang Xianyu's Divine Soul power followed closely, like the most nimble net, easily invading these defenseless Divine Souls, instantly disintegrating their will to resist.

The entire process flowed smoothly, without earth-shattering explosions, or blood-splattering combat.

With the powerful illusionary charm of Cloud, Wang Xianyu, relying solely on Divine Soul-level offense, defense, and assistance, effortlessly defeated enemies several times her number without shedding blood, including even an opponent who had reached the Early Mahayana Stage—that person only lasted one more breath under the illusionary impact of Cloud before Wang Xianyu's condensed Divine Soul needle pierced his defense, plunging him into a deep illusion.

"Cloud, you're amazing." Wang Xianyu smiled as she stroked the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox's head.

Cloud affectionately rubbed its head against her palm, letting out a contented whimper.

After collecting the jade tablets from this group of people, Wang Xianyu's jade tablets reached over two hundred. The sound of heaven and earth announcing the end of the competition echoed throughout the grotto-heaven world. She picked up Cloud, and her figure disappeared into the flower-scented mountain valley.

For the ranking competition, both siblings were ready!

And Xiao Zhuo had already seen the massive black and white boundary realm in the distance.

Of course, it would still take at least half a month to reach it.

And a Clone, identical in appearance to him, had already taken shape in front of him, though its internal Meridians still needed meticulous carving.